Prosperity (Prosperity, #1) by Alexis Hall

I can't believe it took me this long to read this book. I know my friends loved it, but for some reason I thought I wouldn't. No idea why. I mean lots of my friends loved this book. I love some of the authors other books, but I dragged my feet when it came to reading this book, and for that



The dialogue took me a little bit to get the hang of, but it fit the character, and the setting so well I don't think anything else would have worked. The characters are a diverse bunch, and I liked how much the story focused on all of them, and their interactions. Any time I can read a book with gay, bisexual, androgynous, and lesbian characters and have their sexuality/gender identity not be the central focus of the story I'm a happy camper. I loved that characters relationships were more than just romantic, and that the author doesn't buy into the notion that sex equals true love.

The setting was really well drawn and I felt like I was there. It had a very steampunk feel to it, but it felt grounded in the reality of Victorian London, and it didn't feel to clean or too pretty. The plot was fast paced, and felt like my favorite sort of adventure story with lots of nice twists and turns.

Once I started reading I couldn't stop. Everything about this book just worked for me, and I had to run out and buy the short stories once I finished this one. In short.



mle

Lovely, Dark, and Deep by by Michael Jay (Editor)

I received this book as an arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this collection of stories. While not all of them worked for me personally I loved the variety from romantic to flat out scary. I think the editor did a great job finding stories that fit the theme in a variety of ways, and I liked that the idea of the woods was used so broadly. It made for a great anthology. I loved that the characters were just as diverse as the stories, and that it wasn't just an m/m or a f/f anthology. It added to the depth, and richness of the stories and the collection. A great read, and it would be just as good read in sections or in one sitting (you know like I did.) A great collection of stories especially if you like fairy tales or anything on the scary side.


Deep Dark Woods 2 by khantheripper

mle

Stormbringer: Book 2 of the Wyrd by Alis Franklin

I received this book as an arc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. Often times the second book in a series suffers when compared to the first, or is slow going because it's setting up for the climax in the third book, or for another arc in books to come, but this was not the case in this book. The plot continued to be nicely complex, and I loved the twists and turns. The new characters fit into the plot well, and I liked that no one, even secondary characters was exactly who they first appeared to be. No one dimensional villains or innocent victims to be seen.

I liked that the story continued to not just be about Sig and Lain, but was about everyone involved. The view points changed, but not a breakneck pace, and it was easy for me to keep the characters and their stories straight. The varied points of view made the story richer for me, and helped me appreciate how the characters thought about themselves, and how they viewed each other. I liked that the author didn't seem wed to the absolute traditional Norse mythology. I liked how their interpretations worked with the idea that history is written by the victors, and how that might have influenced how characters were portrayed. It was thoughtful, and interesting.

The plot was fast paced, and I loved how the author drew all the disparate threads together in the ending. It was nicely tied together without feeling too pat or easy. Another great volume of this series, and I will be looking forward to reading more.

mle

Plato for Plumbers by Francis Gideon

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There were things I really liked about this book. I really loved all of the Philosophy in the book, and how the stories of the Philosophers worked into the narrative. I love big ideas, and this book had some really thoughtful explorations of love which I enjoyed. I also loved that while Ken was a bit snobbish at first, he isn't dismissive of Mark's intelligence.  I love when an author treats their working class characters with respect, and understands that education level doesn't necessarily equal intelligence, or curiosity, or desire to learn.

On the downside I felt that the relationship was a bit too rushed. It felt like the characters didn't get a chance to know each other before they were falling in love. The events at the end felt especially rushed to me, and I think it would have worked better if it had been more of a meet cute story than what it ended up being.

I do have to add how much I like so many of the Less Than Three Covers. The fit the books so well, and are subtle rather than the sea of headless torsos that adorn other covers.

mle

To Love a Traitorby J.L. Merrow

I received this book as an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The setting was really well drawn, and I felt like I learned a lot about the first World War, and conscientious objectors in Britain, something I had never learned about before. It was interesting, and I love learning about things that are usually left out of history classes. It added such depth, and richness to the story.



I liked the characters as well, and I appreciated that George is suspicious of Matthew, but he isn't rushing to condemn him either. He actually gets to know Matthew, and thinking that Matthew might have caused his brother's death really hurts him. I liked seeing Matthew and George learn to know about each other, and I love how close to the truth George stays. No outrageous stories or made up lives. I also love the secondary characters, and how much they add to the story. I love how the author also adds in women, and the role they played in the war, and what happened when to them when it was over. It made the story much bigger than just Matthew and George.



The plot was well drawn, and it felt like things progressed naturally, and felt authentic to the times. I liked that the setting felt period, but not some sort of idealized version of the past. The resolution was well drawn, and complex, and I appreciated that things are never as simple as they seem. Overall a really well done story.

         

 

mle

Juggernaut (Strain, #0.5) by Amelia C. Gormley

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, and it added so much to my understanding of the first book. I really liked knowing what happened, and why, and the roles Nico and Zach played in events to come. I liked seeing how events changed, and didn't change both characters. I really appreciated the role Zach's faith played in his life especially after seeing how damaging faith could be in the hands of his father and brother. The plot was nicely paced, and fast moving. I really liked how difficult Nico and Zach's relationship was, and how love didn't come close to solving anything. A really nice addition to the series, and I look forward to reading more.

mle

Penn's Woodland by David Connor

I received this book as an ARC though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book was really interesting, but I think it suffered from more than a bit of purple prose, and plot overreach. The complexity of the family story started to feel a bit like a VC Andrews novel, and it felt more than a bit too much. I'm still a little confused by the resolution. The characters were a bit thin, and Penn in particular felt a bit too much like a maiden waiting for her Prince to save her from my taste. The secondary cast was also more tropes than actual people, and I think I would have cared about the story more had I been able to feel more engaged with them. I think with some editing, and some tightening this could be a great story, it's just not there yet.

mle

Beneath the Scales by Aurora Peppermint

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book has some interesting ideas, and concepts behind it. I liked the idea of dragons, and their relationship with humans, but that it was too big an idea to fit into this short of a book. The plot felt a bit of an afterthought, and the characters a bit thin. They also seemed to make major changes in their worldview and motivation without anything to back them up, so it felt unnatural to me. I can see where this story was supposed to go, but it seemed like there wasn't enough background, or enough of a feel for the characters to get me there. I think this might have worked better as a longer novel, or even a series, but as it stands now it feels like the author tried to put too much into it, and I just ended up feeling a bit lost and apathetic. The writing wasn't bad just a bit bland, and I felt like the story needed something to bring it to life. Not a bad book, but not a great one either.

mle

I'm easily amused.